Worthwhile advice for Planning Applicants, April 2006

“Applying for planning permission to build a new home or development can be a stressful, lengthy and costly process. However, changes in planning legislation have served to eliminate some of these difficulties.”

So says Athenry based Cllr. Ciaran Cannon.

Cllr. Cannon is chairman of Galway Co. Council’s Planning Strategic Policy Committee and he elaborated this week on one particular change which may benefit planning applicants in a very worthwhile way.

All planning applicants, irrespective of whether they are building a one-off rural house or a larger development, are entitled to a pre-planning meeting with a planner who is familiar with their area. At these meetings the most important aspects of the application are discussed. These usually include location, design and environmental and road safety requirements. It should be noted that formal consideration of a planning application is always more extensive than consideration at the pre-application stage. However, an applicant should leave a pre-planning meeting with a good overall picture of how successful their application may be.

Notwithstanding, all of the above it has been Cllr. Cannon’s experience, and that of many planning applicants, that there can be an inconsistency of approach from one planner to another.

“I have spoken to many planning applicants following their pre-planning meetings. They are usually satisfied that all of the important points have been addressed and generally seem to have a good indication as to whether or not their application may be successful. However, many find that when their application is lodged and dealt with by a different planner, other major issues can be raised by this new planner that can threaten the success of the application.” said Cllr. Cannon.

“Considering that the cost of lodging an application for even a one-off house can run into thousands, the least an applicant should expect is that there would be a consistency of approach by all those involved in the decision-making process.”

However new terms for applicants agreed with planning officials and provided for in the 2000 Planning Act may serve to make life easier for all. All planning applicants who attend a pre-planning meeting are now entitled to, and should actively seek, a short written report of the meeting. This report should include the major issues discussed at the meeting and should be signed by the planner and the applicant.

“The applicant can then submit this report as part of his or her planning application. This should lead to greater consistency and I believe that it will. For example, if a planner agrees that a particular house design is suitable for an area it will be very difficult for another planner to contradict that opinion if it is provided in writing. I am now urging all planning applicants to seek this written report before they leave the meeting and to ensure that the report is submitted as part of their planning application.” concluded Cllr. Cannon

This article was first published in the Athenry News and Views April 2006